1. Field of the Invention
This invention is concerned with a blind riveting tool comprising a housing, an abutment member having a rivet-engaging face at its forward end to engage the head of a rivet in a rivet-setting operation, and means reciprocable within the housing to pull the mandrel stem relative to the abutment member in the rivet-setting operation, the abutment member and mandrel-pulling means each comprising a plurality of rivet-assembly-engaging parts disposed about a common axis along which the mandrel will be pulled, which parts can be opened and closed relative to said axis to allow in their open condition the introduction therebetween of a mandrel with a pulling head, and in their closed condition the abutment member to engage the rivet head and the pulling means to engage the mandrel under its pulling head, said parts of the abutment member and pulling means being resiliently urged towards their open condition and arranged to be closed by the advance of a surrounding annular actuating element over said parts of the abutment member.
2. Summary of the Prior Art
A blind riveting tool constructed as just referred to is described in U.S. Pat. No. 2,400,354, for example, the tool being arranged for manual operation and for hand feeding, the annular actuating member being also retracted by hand to allow the riveting assembly engaging parts of the abutment member and mandrel-pulling means to open for introduction of the mandrel of a fresh assembly. Whether the tool be constructed as described in said U.S. Pat. No. 2,400,354 with reference to FIGS. 1-6 (in which the actuating member is said to be restored to its forward position by a spring) or with reference to FIG. 7-13, loading of the tool with a fresh rivet is inconvenient and slow, the operator having only two hands for what is essentially a three-handed operation, to hold the tool, operate the actuating member, and pick-up and insert a fresh rivet.